


Dawn of A New World

by Aurorazilla



Category: Carmilla (Web Series)
Genre: Anyway yeah, F/F, Superpowers au!, also there's kind of kirsch and sj, also trigger warning!!!, and because cursing, and eventual smut, and lots of flirting, but it might, but that's off to the side, it might not turn to explicit later, rated because violence, so get ready for that, then kirsch and danny, there are flashbacks of torture and stuff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-08
Updated: 2015-03-20
Packaged: 2018-03-11 00:58:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,469
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3309824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aurorazilla/pseuds/Aurorazilla
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Laura wakes up in a lab with barely any memory of what happened. When she's rescued by the mysterious "Infinity" she suddenly realizes she's in the middle of a war she had no idea even existed. Follow her as she struggles to cope with her new found abilities... and the fact that she might die for the sake of protecting the world against the evil Silas Corporation.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Capture and the Escape

Laura blinked her eyes open, then clenched them shut as a terribly bright light filled her vision. She tried again, slower this time. When the blurriness faded, she looked around her.

She was on a metal lab table, the cold metal biting at her skin. A very thin and not-so-warm hospital gown was draped over her.

She tried to move. Ankle and wrist straps held her firmly in place. Alright, what the hell? She pulled again and, yeah, she was _definitely_ tied down. It was time to panic.

Her mouth was incredibly dry, and her head freaking _hurt_.

_“Miss Hollis,”_ a voice crackled over a speaker in the corner. Her head snapped over to the sound. _“Good. You're awake.”_

“Where the hell am I?” Laura tried to make her voice stronger than it actually was, but her throat was sore and it came out as more of a croak than a demand.

_“Don't worry about it. Can you move?”_

“You just saw me spazz out, like, five seconds ago. Now _please_ tell me where I am. Where's my dad? What's going on?”

_“Move every muscle slowly, from your toes, to your legs, to your fingers, to your arms, and so on.”_

“Where am I?!”

_“Cooperate, and you will find out.”_

Laura frowned before doing as she was told.

_“Do you know your name?”_

She rolled her eyes. “I'm Laura Hollis.”

_“Good. Do you know your age?”_

“I'm nineteen.”

_“Do you feel different?”_

“Different?”

_“Any new feelings? A sense of power, of strength?”_

Laura took a moment to feel.

The table beneath her was now warm with her body heat. Her head still hurt, and her mouth was like a damn dessert. There was a weird buzzy feeling in her limbs, though. It crawled over her skin like tiny bugs filled with electricity.

“I feel... _lightning-y_.” She settled on.

_“Okay, good. Doctor Sheridan should be with you in a moment for an exam.”_

“But you said you'd tell me what was going on!” Laura groaned in frustration.

She huffed when there was no response. She tried to remember what had happened before _this_ , but the memories were fuzzy and almost painful to think about.

She turned her head when the big metal door to her right opened up and a man in his late-thirties walked in.

“Hello, I'm Doctor Sheridan.” He greeted.

He flashed a light into her eyes and grunted.

“What's going on?” Laura asked for what felt like the thousandth time.

“You have been chosen for a... special research assignment.” Dr. Sheridan explained, squeezing at her biceps.

“Chosen? What?”

“An agent of ours has been watching you for a while, now. You're a perfect candidate for one of our experiments.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Experiments? What the _what_?”

“There's no reason to be alarmed,” he assured. “Now, have you experienced any nausea? Dizziness? Memory loss?”

“Yeah, is that bad? Crap, does my dad know I'm here?” Laura gasped.

“Your father has been notified.” Dr. Sheridan began to loosen the straps around her ankles and wrists. “Sit up slowly now, that's it. Okay,” he shined the light in her eyes again. “Excellent.”

He wrote something down on a clipboard before asking a few more questions about Laura's dietary habits, if she smoked, etc. before he pulled out a walkie talkie thingy.

“ _Patient 206 is stable and ready for briefing._ ” He said into the speaker. He turned back to Laura. “A counselor will be right in to take you to your cell- erm, _dorm_. They will explain everything to you.”

With that, Dr. Sheridan was out the door.

Laura looked around her. The room was very, very sanitary. It was pristine white and not a single surface was dirty. Beside the metal door was a counter with a few labeled drawers ( _stabilizers, tranquilizers,_ it was like they were prepared for a patient going completely bonkers).

A woman came in, then. She was middle-aged and had a nervous smile.

“Hello, 206,” she greeted.

“I'm _Laura_.” The blonde sighed.

“Right. Come with me.” The other woman turned and Laura followed.

The corridor was brightly lit. Plain slab brick walls, plain white tiles, it was boring.

“Here at the Facility, we have three sectors: Animus, Sensus and Corpus. You will be going to Sensus. Meals are at eight in the morning and eight at night. Training is from ten in the morning to two in the afternoon. Personal counseling is from two to five. Personal training is from five to seven. From eight to ten is Free Time, and eleven is lights out. Am I clear?”

“Uh, yes?” Laura had to practically scurry in order to catch up to the woman.

“Here, you do not have a name. You are 206 and nothing more. You do not talk to any officers or agents unless spoken to and you will always refer to them as 'sir' and 'ma'am'. You do not interact with any other subjects unless it is meal time, training, or Free Time. You will receive a book of rules that you will finish by tomorrow. You will abide by every single one of them or you will face consequences. Understand, 206?”

“Yes, ma'am.” Laura gulped. Her dad would _not_ have let her into a place like this. Where was she? Hell?

“Any questions in regards to the Facility and its rules?”  
“Where-”

A blaring alarm cut Laura off.

_“Attention all officers! We have a breech in security! All officers to Fera! I repeat: All-”_ Whoever was on the intercom was silenced. _“Yeah, this is still on right? Okay. No, Perr, I wanna say it this time!”_

The woman who had been talking to Laura pulled Laura into an empty room. “Stay here. Don't move.” Laura nodded. The woman left.

_“The Infinite are back. Surprise, bitch, I bet you thought you'd seen the last of-_ hey _!”_ The voice changed to a more firm, masculine voice. _“We won't stop until this hellish place is shut down. Don't worry, we'll save all of you!”_

The intercom shut off. The pounding of footsteps made the ground outside the tiny room shake.

Fear suddenly filled Laura. Wait, where was she? She just wanted to go _home_. She wanted to go home, find her dad, and... and forget about all of this.

Suddenly a loud thump caught her attention. A strangled scream made her shudder.

She wanted to run. She wanted to open the door and run. But the door was locked.

“Get out of here you filthy _mutant_!” A voice snarled and a loud roar followed immediately. A strangled scream. Silence.

The door suddenly burst open and Laura flew backwards, her eyes wide with fear.

A brunette stood tall, a few scratches and blood stained her pale skin. Her eyes settled on Laura.

“Red, we got another one! Looks like a fresh one, too.” She called behind her.

A very tall redhead came up behind the brunette. “Shit, she's terrified. What did you do?”

“Gee, I don't know, maybe it's the fact that she's in a new place with no memory that's got her so scared, wouldn't you think?” The brunette growled.

The redhead rolled her eyes. “Hey, it's gonna be okay. We'll get you out of here.”

“C'mon, cutie,” the shorter girl offered her hand out to Laura.

Laura stared at it.

This place was _obviously_ bad, right? After all, that guy said that the place was bad.

She hesitantly took the outstretched hand and was pulled up.

“Keep up, alright?” The brunette ordered before the two took off.

Rather, the pale girl darted through the many winding hallways with Laura dragging behind her and the redhead striding along behind them.

“W-Wait, I-” Laura stumbled for a second.

“Hey, _kitty_ , the meds haven't worn off the poor girl.” The redhead told the other girl.

“Shit, okay, hold on.” The girl stopped and squatted down, offering her back. “Hop on, cupcake.”

Laura did as she was told and they went _much_ faster.

They almost made it to a broken down door before a few men stepped out. The girl set Laura down.

“Stay out of the way,” she instructed before lunging at one of the men.

Soon a very large, very terrifying black cat was pinning a man, its sharp teeth tearing into his throat.

Laura let out a gasp of shock. The redhead punched a man clean through a wall. Okay, what. The. _Fuck_.

“We'll explain everything soon. Just- get through that door. _Now_.” The pale girl yanked Laura through the hole of what used to be a door, but it looked like something very big and very strong pushed the metal off its hinges.

Soon, they were outside. It was night time and it was nice out. Humid with a cool breeze. Laura had no time to appreciate nature, however. She was pushed into a black van. The brunette and redhead followed suit.

Several seats were on the side of the huge vehicle, all filled with shaking, sobbing people. The front of the van was closed off.

_“Everyone in?”_ A man's voice asked from a speaker on the window that separated the front from the back.

“Affirmative. Go, go go!” Another redhead (this one had short red hair and a wide grin) replied.

The _ting ting ting_ of bullets hitting the van made Laura jump.

“Relax, cupcake, it's bulletproof.” The brunette chuckled from Laura's side.

“What's happening?” The blonde blurted. “You were just a freaking _panther_ and she-” she motioned towards the taller girl “-punched a guy through a _wall_.”

“We'll explain everything when we get to HQ.” The tall redhead stated softly. “For now, you need to rest.”

Laura wanted to say she wasn't tired. That she was thirsty and hungry and scared and confused. But, as the _ting ting ting_ faded and the low drone of the van filled an increasing silence, Laura found her eyelids getting heavier and heavier.

“Who're you?” She slurred, trying hard to fight the sleep that was threatening to overcome her.

“I'm Carmilla. Go to sleep, cutie.”

“Laura...” The blonde whispered before, finally, closing her eyes.


	2. A New Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Laura has some adjustments to make...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I only had the first 2 chapters written at this point. So tell me if you want more, yeah?

When Laura woke up, she was in a bed. A really, really, _really_ warm bed. She cuddled further into it, burying her face into a pillow. It smelled great. Like pine needles and... god, she couldn't even place together the wonderful smells.

A weird tingling at the back of Laura's mind made her open her eyes. It was weird.  _Really_ weird. If she focused really hard on it, she could feel... annoyance? Disgust? But, they weren't  _her_ feelings. They were distant and fuzzy, most definitely not hers.

She slowly sat up and rubbed her eyes. Memories of the previous day hit her like a freight train.

“Oh  _crap_ ,” she whispered. “Dad is gonna  _kill me_ .”

Her head hurt still. Like, a  _lot_ .

She grunted and looked around.

The room she was in had dark red walls and white carpeting. Beautiful paintings were hung around the walls. In front of the bed she was in was a closed wooden door. To the right of that was a large black dresser.

The bed itself had red covers and black pillows and sheets. It was fluffy and cozy, but she had to move around. Figure out what was going on.

The feelings in the back of her mind shifted to worry and concern. They got stronger as footsteps approached the wooden door. Laura braced herself for a fight.

The door swung open to reveal the brunette from earlier.  _Carmilla_ , right?

“You're awake,” Carmilla turned to look behind her. “See, mutt? Told you she'd be okay. Go get the ginger twins for a checkup.”

Someone further behind Carmilla hissed out  _“Fuck you”_ before another door opened and slammed shut.

Carmilla sat down beside Laura. “How do you feel?”

“Thirsty,” Laura admitted quietly.  _God,_ her throat  _hurt_ .

“Here.” Carmilla handed her a cold glass of water.

Laura drank it all in record time. She gave it back to Carmilla, who placed it on the nightstand.

“Can you tell me where I am?” Laura asked.

“That's what LaFontaine and Perry are for.” Carmilla stated, standing up. “Oh, LaF prefers they, them, their pronouns.”

“Okay.”

“Wow. Usually I get a million questions.” Carmilla snorted. “Or at least LaF does.”

Laura shrugged. “If a person prefers something, then we should treat them like humans and do what they prefer. So if this 'LaFontaine' wants me to use they, them, their pronouns, I will.”

Carmilla quirked an eyebrow. “Damn, cupcake. Maybe the boss was right: it  _was_ smart to take you here.”

Laura narrowed her eyes, opening her mouth to say something before what she assumed was the front door opened again.

The short redhead, the tall redhead, and a redhead with super curly hair walked into the bedroom.

“Ah, the ginger squad is here.” Carmilla snickered.

“Hello to you, too, Carmilla.” The curly-haired one smiled politely and turned to Laura. “Hello, I'm Perry, this is LaFontaine, and Danny.” She motioned to herself, the short redhead, and the tall one. “We're the supervisors of Infinity.”

“'Supervisors'?” Laura echoed. “What, is this, like, summer camp for crazy people with superpowers?”

LaFontaine laughed and so did Carmilla.

“I like her already,” LaFontaine told the brunette, who nodded in agreement.

“I understand that adjusting will be, erm,  _difficult_ ,” Perry continued, unfazed by the comment. “But we're here to talk to you about what's happened, where you are, and what is  _going_ to happen. Okay?”

“Yeah, I guess.” Laura bit her lip. This was serious.

“You are at Infinity Head Quarters. The Infinite is what we call ourselves, Infinity is just the name of the corporation that hides us. We are in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean on a private island that's sort of off-the-grid.” Perry explained slowly.

“Wait, but- how am I going to contact my dad? I have to tell him where I am and that I'm okay!” Laura exclaimed.

“Please, calm down.” Perry placed a gentle hand on Laura's shoulder. A strange sense of calm filled Laura. “Let us explain.” She turned to LaFontaine. “Sweetie, can you tell her what happened?”

LaFontaine nodded and sat down next to Laura. “Alright, so, you were just at the hospital of Silas, a very rich and powerful Organization owned by someone who goes by Mother. They take in humans and inject them with a powerful drug called  _HPZ_ . I'm not really sure what's in  _HPZ_ yet, because with each subject they create a new formula. Did they tell you your number?”

“206,” Laura murmured.

LaFontaine nodded. “So your formula would be labeled in their lab as  _HPZ-206_ . Danny's is  _HPZ-071,_ Perr's is  _HPZ-114,_ etcetera.”

“What's yours?” Laura asked.

LaFontaine chuckled. “Oh, I'm not... I actually helped start the Infinite after they captured Perry. We were best friends at the time, and the Infinity reached out to me and told me where she was and how to help. Carmilla and I teamed up and rescued Danny, Perry, and a few others. I control the gadgets, make sure everyone's connected during missions, I pretty much co-run the place with Perry and the Infinity.”

“What's the Infinity?”

“They're a sort of agency, I think. It's kind of top-secret, but the person in charge gives Perr and I free-reign when it comes to missions.”

Laura nodded thoughtfully.

“Anyway,” the redhead continued. “They judge a subject based on personality, physical appearance – meaning amount of muscle, and intelligence. We looked through your online database, which I've been able to hack into  _finally_ , and it looks like you met their standards on everything, which is pretty rare.” They turn to Perry. “They took Perry in mostly for her intelligence and connection with emotions, so they put her into the Sensus category.

“Each category specifies what each power is based off of. Sensus is focused on emotional and spiritual senses. Animus is focused on powers of the mind – like intelligence or will power. And Corpus is focused on powers of the body – strength, endurance, and, in some cases like Carmilla's, shape.”

“So that's why she turns into a cat?” Laura questioned.

“Yeah. Perry can heal people's mental and emotional wounds. She's learning how to do it physically, but it takes a lot out of her. She can also read emotions and help control them. She did it to you a minute ago. It works best through touching.” LaFontaine smiled at Perry.

“Wait, so... if I was injected with that...  _stuff_ .... that means I'm a... that I have...?”  
“Powers? Yup.” LaFontaine nodded.

Laura's mouth was dry again. Her stomach clenched. “Oh god...”

“Don't worry! You're still on Stage Four.”

“Um, don't I have to go through one, two, and three to get to four?”

“Stage One is selection, when they send an agent to monitor you. They watch you for a few months before moving onto Stage Two: capture. It's the quickest stage, since they usually just get you to a crowded area, drug you, and take you to their HQ.” Lafontaine watched a look of horror cross Laura's face. “Yeah... anyway, then Stage Three: transformation. They test you and inject you with several versions of the formula until your body accepts one without trouble. Then they... uh... move you to Stage 4: rehabilitation. Due to both trauma and a few superhumans with the ability to take away memories, you won't remember anything that happened.”

“Wait- I-I wasn't asleep during the whole testing thing?” Laura gasped.

LaF shook their head sadly. “Afraid not. If you're not conscious, they can't monitor you correctly.”

“What are the other Stages?” Laura asked hesitantly. She felt sick. Her head hurt. Her mouth was dry again.

“Uhh, after that they have Stage 5. They basically brainwash you into obeying them and making you their little minion. It's hard to get people out of that trance, but with the help of a memory returning serum I'm working on, it's becoming easier and... safer. Then, Stage 6: you're trained to fight for them. After that... we don't really know.” LaFontaine ran a hand through their hair.

Laura bit her lip. “If... if my memories are gone... how do we get them back?”

“Oh, the serum is mostly for people who just got out of Stage 5. People out of 4, like you, get some counseling with a Healer to slowly restore your memories. Speaking of which,” they turned to Carmilla. “You're gonna help her, yeah?”

“I'm not a Healer,” Carmilla scoffed.

“Yeah, but you're better with this. Besides, Perr can't help her, since she's already gonna be her trainer.”

“My trainer?” Laura asked.

“Oh, right, so after viewing your files,” LaFontaine turned back to Laura. “We discovered that you actually share the emotion thing with Perr. So she'll help coach you through it. Your other ability is actually one we haven't seen before. You should be able to force images into people's minds. There are some things locked in a different folder on your file. I can't get into that folder just yet. It's a little hard to crack. Guess I gotta get Jay to help...” They thought for a moment. “Anyway, yeah, Danny'll take you to your room and explain some stuff.”

“I- this isn't my room?”

“No, it's Carmilla's.”

Laura glanced at the brunette, who shrugged indifferently.

“Come on, Laura,” The tall redhead,  _Danny_ , grinned warmly.

Laura stood up and wobbled for a second. She was dizzy.

An arm stabilized her and she looked up at Danny. “Thanks,” she murmured.

“No problem. C'mon.”

They exited Carmilla's room and walked down a very long hallway filled with other doors.

“Things aren't too strict around here. Breakfast is from seven to nine. Lunch is noon to two. Dinner is five to seven. We usually have training from two-thirty to four. But I think Perry's going to be in charge of your training, so your times might be different. You might not even be in group.” Danny explained as they walked.

“What do you train for?” Laura asked.

“We just practice using our powers. The more you train, the easier they are to control.”

“Oh. How does rooming work, exactly?”

“For people who just arrive, you have a room on the first floor and you usually have a roommate. But when you've been here for a month or so, you get your own room on a floor with people who have the same kind of powers as you. Like, I live on the second floor with the Corpus users.”

“How many floors _are_ there?”

“Just four. The very bottom floor is full of TV's and games. Which reminds me, every weekend we have events that Perry organizes. I think this weekend is a movie? But, yeah, Saturday is the day we all hangout together.”

Laura nodded thoughtfully. “Does... does my dad know I'm here?”

Danny stopped, then. She faced Laura and put a hand on her shoulder.

“This is hard to explain, but... Laura, we... we can't see our families again. Not yet, anyway.” Hurt filled the redhead's eyes as she spoke, as if every word hurt her as she spoke them. “Silas doesn't know anything about our families. If we stay away, they'll be safe. I know, it' horrible, it sucks, but they have to think that we're dead, for now.”

“But, they- they said they told him-”

“They told SJ that, too,” Danny sighed.

“What? Who's that?”

“She's- she lives here. She went to find her family a little after she came here. She visited them for a few weeks before, one day... they weren't there. At least, not anymore.” She looked away. “That's what'll happen to all our families if we see them. Silas will do _anything_ to get their army back.”

“What are they trying to do?” Laura questioned quietly.

Danny shrugged. “Rule the world, I guess. Now, let's get you to your room.”

 

* * *

 

Laura wasn't assigned a roommate, yet. She didn't know if that was good or bad.

Her room was small, unlike Carmilla's. It was just one room and a bathroom. Two beds sat across the room from each other with shelves behind them. There was a desk at the end of the room that was empty, and had a rolling chair in front of it.

Her bed had gray sheets and a white comforter with floral patterns. One of the pillows matched the flowery blanket, but the second pillow was a bright shade of yellow. The other bed had no sheets and sat there abandoned.

She sat down on her own bed. It was comfortable. Warm.

She thought over all of the new facts:

  * She could never see her father until 'Silas' and 'Mother' were eliminated.

  * Something horrible had been done to her while she was in Silas's care.

  * She had powers.




She wasn't sure which fact frightened her the most.

She missed her dad. But she had to do whatever it took to protect him... even if it meant never seeing him again and being thrust into a war she didn't know she was apart of.


	3. Adjustments

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> LaFontaine and Perry are stumped by Laura's files. Meanwhile, Laura learns the ways of her new home and slowly begins to control her powers. Of course, Carmilla's built her walls up. But, don't worry, Laura is determined to break them down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have I mentioned before that this story is gonna be updated at random times? Well, yeah... this isn't my priority right now. TRIGGER WARNING: Recollection of torture and imprisonment.

The large room was dark, save for the bright glow of a computer screen. LaFontaine sat in a rolling chair, their gaze entirely focused on the monitor in front of them.

“Any luck?” Perry asked as she approached the other redhead's side.

LaF shook their head. “No. It's passcode protected, which is weird. It's like they don't want _anyone_ to get into Laura's file – not even their own personnel.”

Perry watched the screen as LaF put in another code. She wasn't usually good with computer things. Okay, that was an understatement. The last time she had a computer, it broke because  _apparently_ you can't clean computers with regular cleaning products without a chemical hitting a loose wire and possibly causing the entire thing to catch on fire. Who knew?

She could sense LaFontaine's frustration and confusion. She placed a gentle hand on their shoulder and tried to transfer calming feelings. “Sweetie, you're too tense. Take a break?”

LaF nodded and glanced up at their girlfriend. “Yeah... okay.”

“We got another shipment of Nutella. I brought you some.” Perry turned to grab a paper bag off of the tan leather couch.

Since she shared a room with LaFontaine, they had a bigger room than most of the other people here. It was about the size of a small apartment or a big hotel room. It only had two rooms: a living room and a bedroom. Well, and a bathroom.

The living room had a loveseat and a flat screen. Two tables sat on either end of the couch. There was a computer desk off to the side that LaF currently sat at. There was also a large bookshelf on the wall opposite to the front door, next to the door to the bedroom. The bedroom had a queen-sized mattress with a large green comforter and white pillows and sheets.

Since they had been living here for almost a year, the place developed a nice comforting homey feel to it. It felt safe.

LaFontaine stood up and planted a soft kiss to Perry's cheek. “You're the best, you know that?”

Perry smiled. “I do try my best.”

LaF settled down on the couch and Perry followed suit with two plastic spoons LaFontaine insisted on stealing from dinner last night.

“It's just weird, y'know?” LaF noted around a mouthful of the spread. “It's like Carmilla's file. Completely closed off.”

“Don't worry about it now, okay? You've been too stressed lately.”

“Yeah, you're right.” They leaned their head against Perry's shoulder. “I just miss when it was simple.”

“We were never simple.” Perry sighs.

And it was true.

Before Perry had been taken, she and LaFontaine had a difficult time when it came to realizing their feelings for each other. Perry's family was open to anything, really. They were laid back when it came to  _that_ sort of stuff. LaF's family, however, was just about as closed off as a family could get.

They had known each other since they were five. Maybe it was that simplicity that LaF missed. The days when they played Monsters and had tea parties with stuffed animals. Perry would be lying if she said she didn't miss that, either. But she liked where they were now, even if it meant not seeing her family. She was happy with LaFontaine.

 

* * *

 

_Cold metal cuffs held her to the lab table._

_“Please, please let me go,” she begged, her tears icy against her flushed face. What were these people doing to her? She felt weird. Her veins felt like electricity was buzzing through them._

_“Sorry, nothing personal.” The man's tone was casual._

_“Give her another injection.” The woman ordered._

_“Another?” The second man asked. “With all due respect-”_

_“If you respect me, you'll do as you're told.” The woman snapped. “She's strong. She can handle it.”_

_The needle that pierced her skin ripped the scream from her throat. Pain so horrible she saw white spots lining her vision. She shook with a strange new feeling that filled her. The pain worsened. She was going to die if this pain continued._

_At this point, that didn't seem like such a terrible thing._

 

* * *

 

Laura shot up out of her bed, panting hard and sweating. Her throat was raw and sore, as if she had been screaming.

She was terrified. As if the pain would return at any moment.

She looked around her room wildly, expecting to find the three people who were hurting her. But she found no one. She was alone. She didn't want to be alone.

She glanced at the clock. It was almost seven, which, if she remembered correctly, meant that breakfast was coming up soon.

She stepped into the shower and let the hot water run over her body as the blurry visions of her dream washed away. The pain she remembered soon became a distant memory. The clothes she had were simple jeans and a brown tank top. The note left with her clothes said _'you can check the store for something you like more'_.

By the time she made it out of her room, the halls were filled with people hurrying to the cafeteria.

She yelped and hopped back through her door frame, waiting for the area to clear a little bit. She saw an opening and quickly disappeared with the rest of the people.

When she got her tray of food (waffles, orange juice, toast, and an apple) she sat alone at a table in the farthest corner of the cafeteria.

LaFontaine was quick to join her, along with Perry and Danny.

“How'd you sleep?” Danny asked.

“Horribly,” Laura admitted, cutting into her waffles.

“Nightmares?” LaF broke open their bottle of apple juice.

Laura nodded.

“You'll have to tell Carmilla about them during your session today.” Perry murmured, biting into her piece of toast.

“Wait, what?” Laura asked, confused.

“Perr, you forgot to give her her schedule.” LaF stole a piece of bacon off of Danny's tray.

The tall girl let out a low growl and slapped the food out of the scientist's hand. “ _No._ ”

“C'mon, _please_?”

“ _My bacon_.”

“Rude.”

“What schedule?” Laura interrupted the pair.

“Oh, right! I'm sorry.” Perry's eyes widened. “I can't believe I forgot- here.” She handed Laura a slip of paper. “This is your schedule. We've assigned Carmilla to be your personal memory restorer since you two have... shockingly similar cases. In a way.”

Laura unfolded the paper. Perry was her personal trainer, and Carmilla was her 'therapist'.

“Don't worry if she seems bitchy at first,” Danny piped up, snatching her bacon back for the last time. “She has a soft spot for you, I think.”

“Me?” Laura echoed, folding the paper back up and sticking it in her pocket.

“Yeah, usually she avoids any and all newbies.” LaF sighed in defeat, watching Danny eat the bacon with a frown. “But she let you sleep on her shoulder in the van, so I guess that's a good sign. Then she let you lay down in her bed.”

Laura blushed. She totally forgot she slept on the brunette's shoulder.

“While we're here, I'd like to tell you the rules here.” Perry began, like she'd rehearsed this a thousand times (when in actuality she'd just told these rules to many, many people). “No violence is to be directed towards another, erm, 'mutant' outside of the Training Room.” She didn't like the word 'mutant'. It made them seem like freaks. “No sharp objects in any dorms under any circumstances.” This was a rule they had to establish after the first group of people in stage three and four came in... It was a hard loss, and, if Perry were to be perfectly honest, she still had a part of her that blamed herself for that particular incident. “No visiting families, or any contact outside of the island. You're here for your own safety, and the safety of others.”

Laura nodded. “Okay.”

She looked at the entrance when a weird tingly feeling in the back of her mind arose. A familiar brunette slipped into the cafeteria, by herself, and hurried to get food.

Laura bit her lip at the strange nagging feeling and turned her attention to LaFontaine, who was snapping their fingers in her direction.

“Geez, L, you need to quit zoning like that.” They huffed.

“Sorry, what were you saying?”

“Doesn't matter now. What were you looking at?”

“More like _who_ ,” Danny muttered.

“Whoa, what?” LaFontaine turned around, noticing Carmilla as she picked up a tray of food and headed towards the back of the cafeteria, seemingly towards the group. “ _Oh_.”

Laura groaned. “Please stop looking at her.”

“ _Somebody_ is hot for their shrink.” LaFontaine chuckled. “Relax, L. We won't do anything to embarrass you.”

“Hey, mittens!” Danny yelled, catching the brunette's attention and waving wildly at her.

Carmilla's eyes narrowed at Danny, her course changing so she was definitely heading towards the group's table.

 _Why would these people do this to me?_ Laura thought, horrified.

“What do you want, mutt?” Carmilla hissed at the redhead.

“Sit with us,” LaFontaine offered. “We were just telling Laura about how you were going to help restore her memories.”

“I'm sorry, I'm doing _what_?” Carmilla was no longer the sweet-ish girl Laura had met yesterday. She looked really... _pissed_.

Perry seemed unfazed, however. “Did you not get the envelope I left under your door this morning?”

“I kicked it to the side for later,” Carmilla shrugged. In other words: she probably tore it to shreds.

“Well, you're going to help bring Laura's memories back. We saw some similarities in your case files...” The redhead trailed off for a moment, not sure about how much she should reveal.

“I told you, I don't want to _do_ that again.” Carmilla growled.

“Please, Carmilla, what's the worst that could happen?” Perry scoffed. “Laura is the only person you treat like a decent human being since-”

“The way I treat her has _nothing_ to do with how I treated-”

Laura stood up, pushing her tray away. The anger that she felt wasn't her own, but it was enough to frustrate her and make her want to leave the damn room.

She stomped through the halls until she reached her dorm, where she slammed the door loudly behind her before hopping on her bed. She curled into herself as the emotions that weren't hers quelled to a distant hum.

There was still a pull in the back of her mind. A quiet feeling of worry. She ignored it.

 

* * *

 

By the time lunch rolled around and passed, Laura was normal again, and she and LaFontaine, Perry, and Danny were laughing like life-long friends.

Group training, however, was a whole new territory.

Boys and girls were either in pairs or groups, sparring, showing off their unique abilities.

Laura instantly felt out of place.

“I'm gonna go grab Betty and see if we can crack open file 206.” LaFontaine murmured to Perry, who nodded in understanding.

“I'll be helping Laura.” Perry replied.

“I'm gonna go kick Kirsch's ass. Later, Laura.” Danny threw a playful grin at the blonde before hurrying to the sparring center.

The gym that group training was held in was very large. There were weights on once side, a sparring station right next to it, target practice (with fire-proof targets), and lots of other stuff.

Before coming here, Perry informed Laura that she should probably dress into something that she could move around easily in.

“I'm going to help you discover your powers.” Perry explained. “We already know that you can sense emotions, and that you can force images into peoples' minds, but you have to get a grip on those powers, and learn to control them.”

Laura gulped uncertainly.

“Let's move to the Sensus Room.” Perry moved towards one of the doors off to the side. “Our gym has three rooms – the main room is for physical exercise. The Sensus Room is for emotional control, and the Animus Room is strictly for mental power. That's where you'll find LaFontaine most of the time, when they aren't glued to the computer monitor in our room.”

Laura nodded and bit her lip. “I thought personal training didn't start until eight.”

“It doesn't. I just want to see how easy it is for you to get in touch with your powers.”

Perry lead her into a room that was much smaller than the main one. It was quieter, too. Yoga mats were off to the side, where a few people sat in a meditative position.

Laura liked this room.

“Oh, hello, Perry,” A blonde woman stepped up to them. “This is Laura, right?”

Perry nodded. “Laura, this is Elsie. She's one of the Sensus users.”

“You have a unique ability, too.” Elsie stated with a gentle smile. “I see the future.”

“Whoa, what?” Laura gasped. “That's _awesome_.”

“Not as awesome as one might expect. I just get glimpses – blurry images, really.”

“Apparently I can put images in peoples' minds,” Laura shrugged. “That's gonna be fun.”

“It's a useful power.” Elsie chuckled, turning to Perry. “Where's LaFontaine?”

“Probably in the lab with Betty.” Perry frowned. “Is something the matter?”

“No, no, don't worry.” Elsie slipped away from them without another word.

“Does she do that a lot?” Laura questioned.

“Yes, unfortunately.” Perry sighed. “Now, let's get started.”

 

* * * * * *

 

The throbbing headache that began to rear its way into Laura's brain flared once more as she forced herself to focus all her energy on the picture Perry had shown her.

The girl who was sitting across from her, Sarah Jane, looked awkward and uncomfortable.

“Focus, Laura,” Perry urged.

Laura flinched in pain when the headache got worse. “It hurts,” she hissed.

“I know, I know.” Perry frowned. Maybe she should call it a day. It was almost time for dinner.  
Laura clenched her eyes shut. Think of the apple. Apple apple apple. _Apple_.

SJ suddenly gasped and Laura snapped her eyes open. SJ's gaze was distant and hazy for a second, before she focused back on Laura.

“You saw an apple.” SJ stated.

Laura took a deep, steadying breath. She was shaking and sweating with the effort. She nodded.

“That's enough for today.” Perry put a hand on Laura's shoulder. A calming feeling took over Laura. “Let's get ready for dinner.”

 

* * *

 

Laura hesitated by the door to Carmilla's room. Apparently her sessions would be held in the brunette's room, which was, admittedly, awkward considering how grumpy she was this morning.

Maybe she was different now? Laura's father had always told her to give the benefit of the doubt. And Carmilla had been so sweet to Laura in prior situations. No, Carmilla wasn't vicious, what was she thinking? She was just... misunderstood.

With that in mind, Laura knocked softly on the door.

“It's open!” Someone shouted from inside, and Laura slipped in quietly.

“Hey, uh, Carmilla, it's me.” She said as she closed the door behind her. “Look, I'm sorry about earlier today, and-”

“Let's get this over with, creampuff.” Carmilla cut her off and Laura looked up in surprise at the soft tone in her voice. “Sit down.” She motioned to the black love seat she was sitting on.

Laura took this moment to take in what she didn't yesterday. The walls were still red, and the flooring was a dark wood. The love seat was leather and black, and sat directly across from a flatscreen TV. The bookshelf off to the side was almost overflowing with books of different kinds (upon closer examination, Laura could tell that some of those books were in different languages).

Carmilla looked bored at first, but beneath that Laura could sense a bit of fear.

Laura finally sat down on the plush couch and murmured, “What's the matter?”

Carmilla sighed. “Working with mutants who can sense emotions is already a pain in the ass. Spending forty minutes with one alone is gonna suck.” She muttered to herself.

Laura narrowed her eyes. “What's that supposed to mean?”

“I _mean_ it's going to be harder to lie to you.” Carmilla rolled her eyes. “Alright, sundance, here's how this works: you don't ask me about anything personal. You don't use your powers on me. You most certainly _do not_ act like we're friends, because we aren't. Got it?”

Laura frowned. “You sure were acting friendly yesterday. What crawled up your ass and died?”

“I was only friendly because I felt bad.” Carmilla snapped. Something told Laura that Carmilla was only partially lying.

“The least you could do is treat me like a decent human being instead of an animal!” Laura hissed, anger bubbling up inside her. “Are you seriously _so damaged_ that you have to push others around to feel better about yourself?”

“You're a _child_ , and you know _nothing_. Stop acting like you know what's bothering me because you _don't_.”

“Oh, I know _exactly_ what's bothering you.”

“Do you now? Please, _enlighten me_.”

“Obviously someone hurt you in the past and you're just afraid to open up so it doesn't happen again.” Laura rolled her eyes. “But let me tell you something: I wasn't even going to _bother_ trying to push down your walls. Behind them is a scared little child who's just throwing a damn tantrum because she has to babysit for forty minutes!”

Carmilla looked indifferent. “Is the little baby done, now? Is she done being all angry?”

Laura groaned. “You're _impossible_!”

“Now that you've had your little meltdown, I think we can actually try restoring a memory.”

“So _now_ you act like you want to do this?”

A sudden mix of anger and worry flared up from Carmilla. So strong that it overthrew Laura's own emotions.

“I can't tell you how much I _don't_ want to do this.” Carmilla growled, her voice low and steady. “Honestly, this is the _worst_ part of recovery here. You know what it's like to restore memories? It's fucking _awful_.” Sadness swam behind dark brown eyes. “It can drive someone insane if it doesn't go right. It can drive them to... it _hurts_. You remember everything they did to you, ever last second of torture. And when you're restoring those memories, you experience them, too. We're going to spend forty minutes _writhing in pain_ until one of us is too emotionally exhausted to continue.”

Laura stayed silent, fear creeping up on her. “It- you see it, too?”

Carmilla's jaw set, and she nodded.

Laura waited, but there was nothing the brunette wanted to add.

“Let's... start over then. Sorry for flipping out. Again.” If someone was controlling how many painful memories Laura saw, she certainly didn't want to piss them off.

Carmilla shook her head and sighed. “It's not your fault, cupcake. I was just mad because you're only the second patient I've ever had. I told Perry I never wanted to... to do _this_ again.”

Laura bit her lip, deciding not to ask who the first was or what happened to them. Instead, she smiled softly.

“We've got thirty minutes to kill. How does this work?”  
Carmilla sighed. “Alright, we'll start with something easy.” She held out her hands, palms up. “Hold my hands.”

Laura's heart skipped a beat for some reason. “Uh... 'kay.” She did as she was told, placing her hands on Carmilla's. (She tried not to focus on how super soft Carmilla's hands were, or how really pretty Carmilla was, or... Carmilla in general.)

“Close your eyes.” The brunette instructed, doing so herself. “Get ready, cupcake.”

A tingling sensation filled Laura's palms. The feeling quickly spread throughout her body...

 

* * *

 

 

_The low thrum of the bass vibrated her entire body. Her world was getting spinny as she giggled and laughed at some joke her friend told her._

_She struggled to stand, stumbling out of the house and out into the cold night, hoping the air would sober her up a little bit._

_“Hey, got a light?” A boy with brown hair walked up to her with a kind smile._

_Laura shook her head. “Sorry.”_

_“It's alright. I'm Will.” He held his hand out, Laura stumbled forward and he caught her. “Easy, there.”_

_“Sorry,” Laura blushed. “'m a little drunk.”_

_“I can tell.” Will chuckled. “Here, want me to help you get home?”_

_Laura's dad was a cop. He told her to stay away from men who offered that. But, she was drunk, and her house was just down the street._

_So she nodded before the world around her turned black._

 

* * *

 

Laura gasped and shuddered. “What- what was that?”

Carmilla's jaw was still clenched. “That was when you were taken.”

“Oh.” Laura looked at their hands, which were resting on the leather between them. “That wasn't so bad.”

“We've got some time left, let's keep going. You okay?” Carmilla's voice was surprisingly soft.

Laura nodded and closed her eyes.

 

* * *

 

_“206 is in her cell, just this way.” The man's voice was closer to the metal door as Laura regained consciousness._

_For some reason, her hangover wasn't as bad as she'd expected it to be._

_“You gave her the serum?” A woman asked._

_“No, not yet.”_

_“Remember, William, this serum is different from the others. Completely new. We have to watch her carefully. She's very important.” The door clanged open, revealing the boy from last night and a middle-aged woman._

_“Where am I?” Laura asked, her voice shaky with sleep._

_“Don't worry about it.” Will looked to the woman. “Should we take her to room 507?”_

_The woman nodded and motioned towards Laura. Two men came in and picked her up by her arms. She was no longer in her dress from last night. She was in some sort of hospital gown._

_“Where- what?” Fear was starting to set in, now. She was kidnapped. Oh god. She was kidnapped and they were taking her somewhere else. What if they were going to kill her? “Stop! Let me go!”_

_“Quit struggling,” Will scoffed. “You'll be fine... ish.”_

_The halls were too long and confusing to memorize. Too many bright lights, too many doors._

_The room she was forced into was dimly lit. In the middle was a metal table, and to the sides were weird machines she wished she knew. Confusion and fear were gripping her tightly, now._

_“Read the chart.” The woman instructed as a few men entered the room._

_Laura was strapped to the table by her wrists and ankles. Tight leather cuffs held her firmly in place as the table moved so that she was upright, facing the group of people._

_There were men and women, all strong and angry, that were probably guards. And then there were doctors at the machines and off to the side, near the guards, who held clipboards and looked at Laura with wonder._

_“This, is 206.” Will motioned towards Laura, who, in her fear, kept her mouth firmly shut. “She's a little over five feet tall, slim – but muscular – build, average intelligence, and, from what we've gathered in our research, a special resistance in her blood to the regular HPZ injection.” He stepped towards Laura. “A resistance that makes her stronger, allowing her to take more of the drug than any other patient. This, ladies and gentlemen, gives us the perfect opportunity to test our AHV formula.”_

_Claps echoed around the room, and the boy waited for them to quiet before continuing._

_“AHV stands for Ave Human Vaccination, which gives us the ability to change the shape of human bones, making them lighter. With further experimentation, we may even be able to grow wings on a human.” Will smirked. “Now, the process, since it's still an experiment, will be a little painful for 206, but, thanks to the increase of dopamine in her blood, she'll be able to withstand any and all pain.”_

_He backed away from Laura as the blonde listened, her eyes wide. What the_ heck _is happening?!_

_Will nodded at a woman in a lab coat, who approached Laura with a very large, very way-too-big needle._

_The needle was stuck into Laura's shoulder, and a horrible pain filled her body._

_It was like she was being torn apart. Her veins burned like liquid fire was coursing through them. A piercing scream filled the air as a crack sounded somewhere inside her._ Craack, craack, _Laura's body convulsed. Her muscles screamed at her in agony, as if something were splitting them apart._

_“Stop, stop stop!” Laura begged, but the pain only got worse._

_She hated this. She hated it. She hated it hated it hated it. She didn't like this at all._

_After an eternity, the pain lessened into a distant thrum and Laura stopped screaming. Instead, she shook and sweat and panted._

_“We will continue to inject HPZ into her system, to increase her tolerance.” Will stated. “For now, we can call this a successful day.”_

_Cheers and claps._

_Laura, for the first time in her entire life, felt complete and utter hatred towards another living thing. A hatred so dark, it started her at first._

_She loathed these people for cheering at her misery. She hated every last one of them._

_The table laid back down, and she was released after another shot was given to her. She felt sleepy after a moment, and the world slipped away._

 

* * *

 

Laura returned to the present, shaking. Something on her face was wet, but she didn't move. It was like she still felt the pain, even though it was just an echo of a memory, she felt it as if it had only just happened.

“Laura, look at me.” A voice she didn't register murmured.

Laura couldn't move. She was very, very afraid.

“Laura?” The voice was worried, now. “Shit, _Laura_. Laura, hey, look at me.”

A hand was placed under her chin and she jerked away. Who was this woman in front of her? She was much too blurry to distinguish.

Adrenaline coursed through the blonde as the woman advanced towards her. Her limbs seemed to move on their own accord as they made her leap away from the woman and onto something hard. Her head banged against something, but she ignored the slight pain.

“Get away from me!” She hissed.

“Laura,” the voice wasn't what caught her attention, it was the distant worry and sadness that came with it. “Laura, please, look at me.” The desperation. “ _Please_.”

Laura blinked her eyes and suddenly the blurry image became Carmilla. Dark brown eyes were wide with concern, unshed tears threatening to fall.

“Carmilla?” Laura shuddered before the wetness on her cheeks increased. She was crying.

Arms wrapped around her and Laura instinctively curled into Carmilla, sobs escaping her throat.

“I'm sorry,” Carmilla murmured. “I didn't think your first shot would be that bad. I-I'm sorry.”

Laura took deep breaths, trying to stop the tears.

“Who's your roommate?” Carmilla asked when Laura finally calmed down.

“I-I don't have one yet.”

Carmilla bit her lip. “Alright, I'm gonna regret this, but I'm gonna bunk with you until your memories are all back.”

“Why?”

“Because your nightmares are going to... get bad.” Carmilla hesitated for a moment. “Really bad.”

Laura adjusted her position so that she was looking up at Carmilla. They were leaning against the entertainment center beneath the TV, where countless of DVD's sat, untouched.

“Is that what happened to them? Your first patient?”

Carmilla groaned. “Let's save tragic backstories for another time. I'm going to tell Perry about you moving up here.”

“How does that even work?”

“I'll move my bed to the other side of the room so you can get one up here.”

“Okay, but...” Laura almost said _'why not sleep in the same bed?'_ but that probably would _not_ end well considering she literally just flipped her shit on the poor girl.

“Don't worry, cutie, I don't bite... unless you want me to.” Carmilla winked and Laura's cheeks reddened.

This... was going to be a bad idea, wasn't it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have I also mentioned it's gonna be a bit of a slow-burn?

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Follow me at tiny-gay-aurora.tumblr.com for more fanfics (also friendly reminder that I take requests)


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